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Summary Of The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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The book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a collection of stories from the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien was drafted into the war in 1968 and remained there until 1970 (“The Things They Carried”, N.d.). Kiowa is a Native American and he is gentle and peaceful. He discourages excessive violence but understands difficult decisions of war may not always please his gentle nature. Even though Kiowa strongly opposes excessive violence he later finds his platoon under attack and tragically loses his life fighting for a war he did not fully agree with. One night the platoon set up camp alongside a river. They quickly realized they had settled in a sewage field, meanwhile rain had continued to pour making their camp muddy and dangerous. Suddenly rounds of mortar began to fall onto their camp. After the third round …show more content…

Bowker saw Kiowa begin to sink into the mud and grabbed his boot to try and pull him out. Unsuccessful, Bowker let Kiowa go in order to save himself from sinking into the mud. Bowker tried to save Kiowa but believed it was in his best interest to continue without him. Bowker believes he could have saved Kiowa, if it had not been for the smell ,and won the Silver Star. (O’Brien, 2010, p.143). Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was determined to find Kiowa’s body the morning after his death. Cross believed Kiowa was a fine soldier and human being and there was no way he would allow such a good man to be lost under the sewage . Jimmy Cross believed he had made a mistake setting up camp where he did, and felt sick about it (O’Brien, 2010, p.157). If Lieutenant Cross had not set up camp where he did he believed Kiowa could still be fighting with them and now held the responsibility to write a letter to

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